23-04-2024

BOX OFFICE: New Romanian Cannes Entry Nasty Tops Domestic Weekly Charts

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    Nasty by Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu Nasty by Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu credit: Libra Film

    BUCHAREST: Romanian documentary Nasty, about the legendary Romanian tennis player Ilie Năstase, is currently topping the domestic weekly charts after its release on 74 screens on 19 April 2023. The film directed by Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu is a new addition to the Special Screenings section within the Official Selection of the 77th Cannes Film Festival (14 – 25 May 2024).

    After its first weekend in Romanian cinemas, where it was released by Transilvania Film, Nasty had 13,617 admissions and 80,300 EUR / 399,747 RON gross (according to Cinemagia) and the team of the film is currently travelling throughout the country on a promotion tour.

    Made in five years, the 107-minute documentary dives thoroughly into the controversies around Ilie Năstase (nicknamed Nasty by the press) combining archive documents with original interviews from Rafael Nadal, Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Nadia Comăneci or Boris Becker. The film also includes an interview with Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, as Năstase was the first professional athlete to sign a contract with the Nike brand in 1972.

    „It’s extraordinary that the film has been selected for Cannes, because in France Ilie Năstase is as much loved as he is in Romania, but it is also extraordinary because this is not quite a film d'auteur, and the selection for Cannes might help worldwide distribution”, said Tudor Giurgiu.

    Nasty was produced by Cosmin Hodor through Romania’s HDR Evolution and Tudor Giurgiu through Romania’s Libra Film, in coproduction with Hanka Kastelicova through HBO and the Romanian Public Television (TVR).

    The film is funded by Fundația Ion Țiriac, Banca Transilvania, Dedeman, Superbet, with support from Mastercard, and it was also supported by the Romanian Government, LIDL, Vodafone, Henkel România, CEC Bank, Regina Maria, HelpNet and Initative Media.